The Missing Years
by Mako1
Summary: A series of vignettes that take place during the years Wade is in control of the Alliance.
1. White Angel Black Storm

The White Angel and the Black Storm.

Commander Lance McClain had groaned inwardly when Wade instructed him to act as a guide for a visiting diplomat from off-world. Then he met with said diplomat and her husband and laughed.

"What? You're not capable of giving her the tour yourself?" Lance teased his former comrade.

"I guess Wade figures I've forgotten everything about my native planet," former Commander Sven Holgersson replied wryly.

"The price of marrying one of the co-rulers of some distant world," Romelle added with a smirk.

Down in the Den, Hunk glanced at the monitor and frowned. "I thought Lance was playing tour guide?"

"He is," Pidge replied, and then looked up at the monitor. He turned to face the hidden door that led to the secret lair. "Maybe they're a sympathiser?"

"I hope so…never mind," Hunk laughed when he saw who was accompanying Lance.

"I think it's safe to say they're sympathisers," Pidge grinned as he stepped forward to greet Queen Romelle and Sven. "Oh! Hey! Got something for you," he added to Sven and raced back to the main computer bank.

"This is one of those voltcoms Allura was talking about?" Sven asked as Pidge handed him the device.

"Yup, and since you are accepted by Blue Lion, we figured you should have one in the event of…" Pidge trailed off.

"Wanna give it a test run?" Lance asked, as he removed his uniform jacket.

"Sure," Sven shrugged, doing the same and taking up a spot across from Lance.

"This ought to be good," Hunk chuckled as he, Pidge, and Romelle watched the two spar.

"So exactly what does it do?" Romelle asked.

"After Sven and Lance go a few rounds, the device will pick up on Sven's natural abilities and come up with a holo-weapon best suited to him," Pidge explained. "Keith's produces swords. Hunk's a war hammer. Mine gives me throwing weapons I can also use to tap into computer systems from a distance. Allura's produces either a bow and arrows or a whip, and Lance will either have guns or a force-field generated around his fists that amplify his punches."

"That makes sense," Romelle frowned as she attempted to digest everything Pidge had told her.

"They also double as tracking, communication, computing, and a myriad of other handy tools and devices," Pidge added.

"Handy for Doom raids," she murmured.

"Which is why you're next," Hunk grinned. Across the room Lance and Sven stood down from their sparring session.

"Now press the Arusian crest," Lance instructed. Sven did so and a small smirk graced his lips as a pair of battle axes manifested in his hands. "How far back did you say you could trace your family tree?" Lance snorted as Sven gave the axes a few test swings.

"Pre Viking era," he replied and then called up a sim to give his new weapons a test run. Lance stepped back and joined the others as they watched in a mixture of awe and shock at the efficiency Sven wielded the battle axes. Suddenly they disappeared and a long heavy spear appeared in their place. Lance winced as Sven impaled one of his simulated attackers and used the momentum to hurl the attacker behind him. "End sim," Sven commanded, and the simulation shut off. "I like it," he chimed happily as he turned to face the others. Pidge handed Romelle her own voltcom and the process was repeated. This time the device came up with a broadsword and throwing daggers for the queen.

"The Viking and his Valkyrie," Lance murmured.

"What do they refer to you two on Doom as?" Hunk asked.

"The White Angel and the Black Storm," Sven replied.

"Apt sobriquets," Pidge snickered.

"If it scares that superstitious lot, we'll take them," Romelle winked. With the aid of their voltcoms the legend of the White Angel and the Black Storm grew on Planet Doom.


	2. Heavily Armed Escort Service

Heavily Armed Escort Service.

The SS Explorer prepared for lift off from the seas of Argus, after having returned over five thousand former Doom slaves to their watery home. The incident involving the lions had only recently occurred, and Sky Marshall Wade had decommissioned the Vehicle Team to little more than an escort for the former slaves on their return home. As their individual vehicles were designed with exploration in mind, the Vehicle Team hadn't been disbanded, though rumour had it that Wade was tempted. Fortunately he'd been out voted at Alliance headquarters. Ambassador Coran may not have been able to save the lions from being decommissioned, but he'd helped spare the Vehicle Team from suffering the same fate.

Wade wasn't a fool and he'd sent spies to the Explorer fleet hoping to find evidence he needed to decommission the Vehicle Team. Unfortunately he didn't contend for the two Argusians on the team to see through his plans. Cric and Cinda both had had premonitions that spies were coming and Cric had sensed them immediately once they arrived. Commander Hawkins and Captain Newly were fully aware that recent crew transfers were made to accommodate Wade's spies. Those still loyal to Voltron and everything the Defender of the Universe stood for were easily able to throw the spies off track.

Tech Sergeants Chip Stoker and Nikita Voronkova ambled into the forward lounge that the team used and took a seat near the bar. Chip opened his laptop and scanned for listening bugs. Once he found and disabled them, he alerted the others that the coast was clear. Sammy Klotz secured the lounge and left the team and several of the engineering crew to their business.

"Okay, we've finished the upgrades to the communications systems," Chip said once everyone had taken a seat nearby.

"Engineering will install them during a pre-approved night shift," Nikita added. "Here's the roster," she added, handing it over to the crew chief.

"These tie you straight into the Den and can't be picked up?" the chief asked as he studied the roster.

Chip nodded. "Pidge already has the system in place on Earth, Pollux, and Arus."

"And once we're on-line through the vehicles, our Voltron team will be able to pass messages along when we're en route somewhere," Nikita added.

"We need somewhere on the ship we can install this system too," Jeff muttered.

"How about Professor Page's office?" Lisa suggested. Chip, Cric, and Cinda all shook their heads.

"I saw Ensign May coming out of there the other day with scanning equipment," Chip stated.

"It is one of the first places they suspect," Cric added.

"The laundry," Chip piped up suddenly. "There are enough of us in the Den…"

"That none of Wade's narks would suspect a thing if one of us goes down there," Jeff finished.

"The laundry is on the internal line," the engineering chief smirked.

"But it can be easily routed through to the main one," Nikita added.

"You and your boyfriend are on that assignment," the chief grinned, pointing to Nikita and Chip.

"Who said he's my boyfriend?" the petite Russian tech smirked.

"I'm her fiancé," Chip corrected nonchalantly.

"No way!" Ginger gaped and Nikita pulled out a chain from inside her shirt. A diamond solitaire ring hung from the chain.

"Sammy locked the door right?" Jeff grinned as everyone crowded around the couple to congratulate them on their engagement. Shannon slid past him and behind the bar and fiddled with the lock on a cabinet for a moment before producing a bottle of champaign.

"Combo's way too bloody easy," the Irishman grinned as he popped the cork on the bottle.

Two months later, the couple were wed on Pollux, where the Explorer fleet was now stationed. Pidge proudly stood by his twin's side as Chip and Nikita exchanged vows on a cool autumn morning.


	3. Hacker's Delight

A Hacker's Delight.

Princess Allura smirked as she watched the two tech sergeants install a myriad of new programs into the Castle of Lions computer banks. Allura regarded the young couple before her as they finished updating the castle systems. The Vehicle Voltron and Explorer Fleet had been reduced to a heavily armed escort service by Wade. Sven and Romelle had taken it upon themselves to liberate every last slave from Planet Doom and Pollux served as the refugee planet until former slaves could be returned to their homeworlds. "It was so generous of Sky Marshall Wade to grant you both leave," she teased, when they took a break.

Chip Stoker snorted and glanced to his side. "Seeing as the honeymoon is overdue by what? Four months now?"

"Six," Nikita Stoker corrected.

"And yet you're both spending it working," Allura commented.

"Just a day," Chip grinned. "Thank you for letting us use the royal retreat by the way," he added.

"Da. That was very generous," Nikita offered.

"Chip's practically family," Allura smiled. "It was the least I could do," she added.

"It reminded me of the resorts we have on the Black Sea in Russia," Nikita smiled softly.

"I'll have to look into that when I'm on Earth again," Allura commented. "So Pidge is sure these programs will boost castle security?" she asked, changing the subject.

"As if you have any doubts," Chip teased. Allura chuckled. "Nik and I helped him come up with a lot of it on the Explorer."

"Less chance of Wade finding out about it. Or the game," Nikita smirked.

"I was wondering about that," the princess admitted. "Sympathisers should be able to communicate incognito through it?"

Nikita pulled up the game and logged in. She found a player she knew to be one of Chip's teammates and started playing them. "Tangor is really good at this," she commented as the two lions joined forces on the screen. Chip pulled up the Galaxy Alliance's communications monitoring system and proceeded to scan for Nikita and Tangor's game.

"As you can see, I can't find them," Chip stated.

"No, but we found you snooping," Tangor replied over the com line Nikita had opened.

"Oooh, I like it," Allura purred, as she watched.

"So do we," Tangor replied. "How are things on Arus Princess?"

"Wonderful, and the Explorer?" Allura asked.

"Same thing, different day," Tangor answered. "We are heading back to Pollux from an escort run to Tallus VIII."

"Give everyone my love and we'll see you when you get back to Pollux," Allura offered. Tangor said he would and added that he had to go.

"'May be in' means one of Wade's snoops just showed up in the lounge," Nikita growled when Allura asked what the cryptic sounding send off Tangor had given meant.

"Why am I not surprised?" she sighed.

"What Wade hasn't counted on, was Cric and Cinda being able to sense them from a mile off," Chip added with a dark smile. "We have all twenty seven of them accounted for."

"Wade's sent twenty seven spies to the Explorer fleet?" Allura asked incredulously.

"He's positive because we're based on Pollux now…and our close ties to your team, that we're sympathisers," Chip replied. "He's right of course, but he can't find the proof."

"And we continue to do as we damn well please in the resistance," Nikita added.

"You know?" Allura said suddenly. "The Explorer won't be back to Pollux for a few more days…and it would be such a waste of G.A. resources to shuttle you both back now, when the trip to Pollux is so much shorter," she suggested. Nikita narrowed her eyes and smirked at Allura over her shoulder.

"However would we fill the time?" she asked.

"If memory serves, your brother-in-law does have property in the southern continent," Allura suggested.

"And wouldn't you know it, I have a key to the place," Chip added, playing along.

"Finish up here and get going," Allura chuckled. Chip and Nikita did as commanded and enjoyed several days alone in the quiet mountain retreat Pidge had acquired a few years prior.


	4. Nollaig Shona Duit

Nollaig Shona Duit

_A/N: The title means 'Happy Christmas' in Irish Gaelic._

Sven felt the gentle hand placed in his and gave it a squeeze. Queen Romelle leaned her head on his shoulder and looked out at the long lines of former slaves being processed. Her brother Prince Bandor was currently on Earth with their cousin Princess Allura attending to diplomatic matters. The co-rulers of Pollux were respected enough by Wade that they weren't in his cross hairs, and therefore could assist in the secret plan to retrieve the Black Lion and return him home to Arus.

"Commander Parn called," Romelle stated softly, so only Sven could hear. "He'll be leaving Doom shortly with more refugees."

"Too many," Sven murmured. "We have the room though," he added.

"They're Arusian, so Parn is taking them straight to Arus to be processed there."

"Takk fyrir," he muttered softly, gazing towards the heavens. Romelle chuckled softly, knowing that he was thanking whoever was listening in one of his native languages. "Sst," he commanded suddenly, his eyes glancing around the front of the various lines before them. He strained to listen what he'd thought he'd heard and was rewarded with hearing the voice again. Romelle watched as he dropped her hand and went to one of the lines, where a human male with long shaggy dark hair and an arm missing, was giving his information to the clerk.

"You are Lieutenant Sean O'Brennen?" Sven asked the bedraggled man. He noticed a small Argusian child clinging to his shirt and looking intrigued by Sven's sudden appearance.

"Aye, I was," he replied.

"Former Commander Sven Holgersson," he introduced himself. "Come with me, please," he insisted and Sean looked suspicious. Sven shook his head. "I mean you no ill will Lieutenant, I only want to help you get home faster."

"The wee 'un comes with me," Sean stated, placing his lone arm around the child's small shoulders. Sven only nodded in agreement. "C'mon Colleen, it'll be alright," he assured the girl. She smiled in bemusement up at him and told him that it would be wonderful. Sven hid the smile that wanted to come to his lips when he heard her lilting Irish brogue. Sean had obviously cared for her for a long time.

"I've got this one," Sven mentioned to the clerk, before leading Sean and Colleen towards the palace.

"You're Icelandic?" Sean asked and Sven chuckled.

"I was born in Sweden and I'm Swedish, but I grew up in Iceland," he corrected. "Most people can't pin the accent, so consider me impressed" he added, as they came to stand before Romelle. "This is Lieutenant Sean O'Brennen and his ward Colleen," he said introducing the pair to Romelle. Romelle crouched down so that she was eye level with Colleen before introducing herself to them. Colleen beat her to it.

"You are the White Angel, bride of the Black Storm," Colleen grinned. Romelle smirked in satisfaction. Something about the legend created on Doom around her and Sven with their guerrilla warfare amused her to no end. Sean gaped between Colleen, Sven, and Romelle.

"True," she said. "And please, call me Romelle."

"Forgive my suspicion earlier, Sir," Sean apologised to Sven.

"I was in your place once," Sven said. "There's nothing to forgive. And I am just Sven."

"Aye," Sean nodded. He knew Sven and Romelle's story all too well. Most of the refugees from Doom did. The Drules being the superstitious lot that they were, had dubbed them the Black Storm that brought death and the White Angel that heralded their eternal damnation. The former slaves of Doom quickly adopted the legend for themselves and celebrated the pair as they fought to free them from Zarkon. Sean and Colleen followed as they were led into the palace and shown to a spacious suite for the two of them. "Mind my asking why are we getting the special treatment?"

"It's almost Christmas on Earth," Sven answered. "And there'll be a Christmas party held here in a few days…I want to trump everyone with the mother of all Christmas gifts," he added with a smirk.

"I dinnae ken…" Sean muttered.

"A former crewmate of yours was found a few months back and he honestly thought you were dead," Sven replied solemnly. "Your brother broke a lot of hearts when he fell to his knees with grief."

"Me brother?"

"Shannon?"

"Aye, I have a younger brother named Shannon," Sean replied.

"And Shannon is stationed here with his crew," Sven offered. "They ferry refugees back to their homeworlds."

"Shannon's here?" Sean gaped.

"He will be in a few days."

The SS Explorer landed on Christmas morning and Sven was standing outside waiting for the Voltron Team with his arms folded across his chest. The team resided in the palace along with several of the crew. Sven waited until they were a few feet away before smirking. "For the gift exchange thing, I got Shannon," he easily lied. "And this one can't wait until this evening."

Shannon held his hands together in prayer and glanced heavenwards. "Please he roped the smuggler into bringing booze," he repeated a few times, much to everyone's amusement.

"Yeah Manset was here a few days ago on a booze run, but that's not what I got you," Sven chuckled. He swung the door open and Shannon felt his heart nearly stop. "Turns out the tech sergeant from the Carpathian was wrong," Sven added as Shannon and Sean stared at each other for a full minute

"He said you were dead…he said…" Shannon whispered.

"Nay lad," Sean choked as he stumbled forward to embrace his younger brother.

Romelle stepped out carrying Colleen on her hip and quietly made her way over to Sven's side. Colleen beamed with pride that she had been right as she watched her father and uncle reunite. Shannon's teammates joined the couple, some of them in tears, but all of them smiling. "Who did you really get for the gift exchange?" Cliff asked.

"Wolo, but somehow I don't that can top this one," Sven answered.

"Not a snowball's chance in hell," Cliff admitted with a chuckle.

Sean managed to free his arm from the fierce embrace he was in with his brother and reached back for Colleen. Romelle gently lowered her to the ground so she could join her adopted father. Shannon stood back just a bit as Sean introduced him to his niece. "I've raised her as me own since she was wee," he went on to explain how he'd come across Colleen and took her into his care. Shannon sank to his knees before the little girl and cradled her to him as he welcomed her into the family. Cric came forward and asked about how old she was when Sean had found her. Sean went pale when he saw Cric and the Argusian assured him that he wasn't about to separate her from the only parental figure she'd ever known.

"There are laws on Argus for just such an event," Cric assured. "If the child chooses to, she or he can stay with the person or persons who had cared for them." Cric briefly explained how the law had come into place after it was discovered that Argusian orphans were being cared for by non-Argusians on Doom. "My people form psychic bonds with those we love. Even non Argusians. To separate her from you would be cruel and traumatic."

"She won't be taken from me?" Sean asked warily.

"Not if she doesn't want to be," Cric replied.

"No," Colleen whimpered and clung to Sean. "I wanna stay with Da."

"Then you will," Cric smiled down at her. He looked back up at Sean. "May I search her early memories to find out who she is? Just for any documentation that will have to be filled out."

"Up to her," Sean replied. "He just wants to know what you might remember from before I found ye," he told Colleen as he smoothed his hand over her hair. Colleen blinked her tear filled eyes up at Cric as she considered.

"Cric's a good man," Shannon assured her, rubbing her back in an effort to comfort her. Colleen only replied by giving a quick nod of her head.

Cric knelt on the ground and held his hands out for Colleen to take them. "Close your eyes and clear your mind," he gently instructed. Colleen did as he asked and Cric closed his own eyes as he began his search of her memories. They watched as Cric's brow creased with tension and tears fell from his eyes. "Her given name is Palla Moya…her mother…" Cric paused as he relived the horror Colleen had thankfully forgotten due to her age at the time she lost her mother.

"She appeared to have been beaten severely," Sean growled. Cric nodded.

"I'm looking for…" Cric paused again. "There," he murmured. Cric opened his eyes and looked up at Sean. "I found what I needed and she knows nothing of what I saw," he assured him. "Colleen?" Cric said softly and Colleen slowly blinked her eyes open.

"Did you find them?" she asked and Sean sighed in relief. Colleen had seen many horrors on Doom; Sean didn't want her mother's brutal murder to be one of the ones she'd remember for the rest of her life.

"Yes," he smiled softly at her.

"I can still stay with Da though?" Colleen asked and Cric chuckled.

"You can stay with him," Cric promised. "By our own laws, he is your father now." Colleen let go of his hands and dashed back over to Sean in glee. Cric pulled out his minicomputer and began typing away furiously.

"What were ye looking for?" Shannon asked as Cric typed in the information he'd gleaned from Colleen.

"Argusian parents imprint sort of an identification certificate in their children's minds when they're born," Cric explained. "Other Argusians can find it and remember it for a short time if a child is lost."

"That's handy," Sean muttered. "Did you learn her birth date?" he asked suddenly and Cric gave it to him and added that she'd been born on Planet Doom. Sean did the math in his head. "So she was barely nine months old when I found her then," he said. "At least I think so…I'd been on Doom for over seven years by then."

"She'll be eight soon," Shannon stated. Sean nodded.

"Cinda?" Cric called over to her. "Her parents were from your home province…do these names look familiar?" he asked her as she came over to look over his shoulder.

"Nope," she replied. "Moya is a pretty common family name, but I don't know any Rin or Sirk," she added. "Did she have her father's family name imprinted?" Cinda asked. Cric shook his head.

"Rin mustn't have known it," he replied. "Or she would have provided it, I'm sure. Sirk died before Colleen was born," he added just loud enough for Cinda to hear.

"Argus is a matriarchal society?" Sean asked. Cinda nodded.

"Yes, any children I'd have would carry my name, whereas any Cric ever had would carry their mother's name…not his."

"There's a space here if a slave orphan has a different name to their given one," Cric informed Sean. "It can be used in lieu of a birth certificate."

"Colleen Palla Moya, then," Sean replied. "Does she have any family on Argus?"

Cinda shook her head. "That would take some time to search."

"Her father might, but without knowing his family name, it'll be difficult," Cric added. "From what I learned, Rin had no surviving family members."

"Fair enough," Sean stated.

"That's it," Cric stated as he finished typing. He closed his eyes and took several deep breaths. "That is everything I could find of relevance. It is gone from my mind now."

A ship landed and Prince Bandor emerged from the hatch with a devious grin on his face. He stepped aside and Shannon's jaw dropped at who was behind him. Romelle had called her brother while he was on Earth and asked that he bring Shannon and Sean's family to Pollux. Maeve and Siobhan O'Brennen screamed when they saw Sean and Shannon and raced towards them. Sean caught Maeve as she fell into his embrace weeping her joy that he was alive. Shannon had to take a step back as his baby sister flung herself at him. Donal O'Brennen was more reserved than his wife and daughter when it came to greeting his sons. He wrapped his arms around the pair of them and the family embraced as a whole for the first time in over fifteen years. Sean and Shannon both managed to untangle themselves from their family's arms and turned to reach for Colleen.

Cliff glanced to his side at Sven and smirked. "You are bloody good." Sven waggled his eyebrows as they watched Colleen being introduced to the rest of her family.

"Nollaig Shona Duit," Sven murmured.


	5. Scarred

Scarred.

_A/N: Manset strikes me as a giant cockroach, which is why I'm using insect-like descriptions of him in this._

Princess Larmina sat across from her aunt and watched in silence as she tended to Keith. He'd been shot at by G.A. troops and wounded. Manset had been nearby and provided safe passage for Keith to Arus to be treated for his wounds. The smuggler refused to accept any offer of payment from Princess Allura. Instead he was satisfied that Keith would be tended to, and that she would gladly provide a safe haven, so Manset could lay low for a while. The smuggler said he would stay until he saw Keith wake up and knew he was going to be alright, before he left. Larmina glanced over by the door where the insectoid stood with his arms folded and gave him a weak smile. He returned it with a small nod before returning to his vigil.

"Forgive my asking," Manset quietly spoke up. "That scar on his abdomen…where did it come from?"

"Lotor's laser sword," Allura replied. Manset's antenna lay flat against his head and his beady eyes bugged behind his glasses.

"He survived?" Allura nodded, as Manset shook his head in amazement.

"Dr Gorma figures Keith will pull through from this," Larmina added. "I mean he survived that," she added, jerking her head towards the ragged scar that ran diagonally across his torso.

Manset gave another solemn nod and looked over to the bed where his friend lay. He could just detect the chemical signatures coming off of Princess Allura and decided to give her some time alone with the Commander. "Come little one, we let your Aunt take care of him for a while," he suggested to Larmina. Larmina chewed at her lip for a moment as she considered. Allura looked up and gave her the go ahead to leave, which she reluctantly did. As Larmina was walking towards the door, Allura mouthed her thanks to Manset. He replied by winking his two left eyes at her, as he led Larmina away.

"I feared something like this would happen," Allura murmured quietly, as she brushed Keith's bangs away from his brow. "I know…I know, the plan was the only way to work around Wade," she added. "But I still don't like it."

It was first decided that Lance would be the one to go rouge, but then they thought that it would be too obvious. Keith volunteered instead, because of his impeccable Galaxy Alliance record. That had fired Hunk up who argued that Keith was too noble of character to pull it off. Keith chuckled and said that the Kagone clan were mainly ninjas back in the Isolation period of Japan's history.

"So why do you practically live by the code of bushido?" Hunk had retorted. The others were soon left out of the argument as Hunk and Keith switched to Japanese and went at it for another solid forty minutes.

Larmina had been in the room when they'd argued and looked up ninjas and bushido later. The idea of ninjas had enamoured her to the point of obsession. Allura had finally caved and asked her a short while after the recovery plan had been set in motion, what her obsession with stealth and hand to hand combat were all about. Larmina regaled her with everything she'd learned about Keith and Hunk's ancestral homeland. Allura did her own reading and saw that while Keith was the most obvious with his sense of honour, Hunk wasn't that far behind. Little things that had puzzled her over the years suddenly made sense.

As she was prone to, Allura had clicked link after link as she read and discovered that while Keith and Hunk honoured their Japanese heritage, Lance took 'The Code of the West' as it was dubbed, to heart. Her reading gave her an idea of why Pidge was the way he was, when she stumbled across something about an honour system from Balto. And Sven. He'd always intrigued her with his cool calm and deadly serious air. Allura had heard the term Viking a few times, and was shocked at what she'd read. It was the deadly efficiency of his ancestors that Sven had taken to heart. She eventually shared her discoveries with her cousin Romelle, when she was visiting Arus and the two women talked long into the night as they discussed the various conclusions they'd come up with.

A soft groan roused the princess from her musings and she focused on the bed as Keith slowly began waking up. "Dr Gorma had a grand time patching you up," Allura chastised once he blinked his eyes at her in recognition.

"I'm sure he did," Keith muttered. "Water?" he asked and Allura helped him take a few sips from a glass that had been sitting nearby.

"What happened?" she asked once he lay back.

"Wade's conducting raids on smuggling routes," he answered groggily. "I was in the wrong place at the wrong time. I don't think anyone recognised me though," he added.

"How can you be so sure?"

Keith opened his eyes and stared straight at her. "I'd be dead otherwise." Allura paled at his words. "He wasn't trying to capture fugitives…Wade was out to eliminate them."

"That's illegal according to the Alliance's charter," she stammered.

"What has Wade done since coming to power that is legal?" Keith asked honestly. "You've heard of the Void?" Allura nodded.

"The Alliance high security prison," she answered.

"Wade's keeping political prisoners there as well," he finished. "I heard rumours at the smuggler's market that he's captured several senators that have stood against him and sent them to the Void."

Allura swallowed and lowered her head. "They aren't rumours. Coran has said as much too."

"Is he in danger?" Keith asked.

"I've begged him to be careful when he's on Earth," Allura answered. "But the simple fact that he is Arus' representative makes him a target."

"You could send someone else." Allura shook her head.

"No one has the sway Coran does, nor the experience in dealing with the Alliance."

Keith chewed at the inside of his lip for a minute before deciding to change the subject. "I know Manset brought me here…"

"He currently has Larmina giving him a tour of palace, I'd suspect," she finished. "I've given him the offer of lying low for a while here too."

"That's good. Manset has a lot of clout among the smugglers," Keith stated. "I kind of need him out of Wade's clutches."

Allura chuckled. "You're not the only one who wants him to remain free," she said. "Lance relies heavily on him for shipments of 'supplies' from Arus," she added, waving her fingers in the air in quotation marks.

"Booze runs?" Allura laughed as she nodded her head yes.

"And Sven requires the same services on Pollux. Some medicine called Brennivin," she added.

"Brennivin isn't medicinal," he countered. "You could use the stuff as paint stripper maybe," he added with a laugh.

"Sven claims that it's medicinal," Allura countered. "Apparently it keeps him from heading to Earth and dealing with Wade his way."

"He's got a point then," Keith conceded.

"And as the prince consort, he pretty much gets what he wants," Allura added.

"Yeah well Brennivin is anything but medicinal," Keith added. "I had it once and nearly needed my stomach pumped."

"Is good medicine," Manset said from the doorway. "On my species works like antibiotic. That sake stuff you like is the dangerous one."

"Alright you win," Keith chuckled holding his hands up in surrender. "Thanks for bringing me here," he added in all honesty.

"Thanks for alerting me to the raids," Manset countered. "You will be okay and listen to the doctor?"

Keith glanced at the serious set of Allura's eyes and nodded. "I don't think she'd let me get away with anything but obeying Gorma's orders." Allura made a small noise and Manset laughed.

"I came to let you know that the little one has offered to take me to famous Arus restaurant," Manset informed Allura and gave the name of the place.

"Get the fries, they're the best in the galaxy," Keith suggested. Manset waved an arm as he left.

"You should get some sleep," Allura said. Keith didn't argue and closed his eyes. She waited until his breathing evened out and she knew he was out before placing a gentle kiss on his cheek. She gave the ragged laser sword scar a final look before leaving him to sleep peacefully.


	6. Work

Work

"Why is it that the only Japanese I know is all the swear words?" Pidge piped up from his consol as Hunk swore a blue streak nearby.

"Because that's all the Big Guy swears in," Lance snorted. Lance had found the abandoned hanger two months earlier. The three of them had put in almost all of their free hours converting it into a secret lair. Pidge figured that they were about eighty three percent finished on the conversion. Another barrage of course language came from Hunk before he bellowed out for Lance to join him.

"I'm too big to fit in here," he growled as he indicated the area he was trying to weld in. "You're small enough to get in there."

"Gee thanks," Lance snorted as he doffed his jacket and put on the welding mask Hunk handed him.

"And French," Pidge muttered as Lance took his turn swearing after a few moments inside the tight compartment. He double checked the circuitry he needed and made sure that none of it was near where Lance and Hunk were working, before firing up a communications program he'd recently finished. "Hey Nik," he greeted when his brother's girlfriend answered the call.

"Colourful language," she commented, referring to Lance and Hunk in the background.

"Tell me about it," Pidge replied. "Have you or Chip managed to get that game I sent you tested yet?"

"Da. Chip said Marvin, Tangor, and Zandee are showing signs of being real good at it."

"Tangor is really showing an aptitude for it," Chip cut in on a separate channel.

"Hey Chip, I wasn't sure if you were about or not," Pidge greeted his twin.

"We just got done with drills," Chip stated. "And as for the game, I figure a few more tweaks and we can start leaking it out on the net."

"Tell me you figured out that glitch I had in the scrambling programming," Pidge begged.

"Yep," Chip smirked. "You had the numbers slightly off."

Pidge pinched at the bridge of his nose and adjusted his glasses. "Considering when I'm usually working on it, I shouldn't be too surprised."

"What are Hunk and Lance doing?" Chip asked when he looked at the scene behind Pidge.

"Finishing up with the sound proofing," Pidge answered. "This place is pretty out of the way, but in the event of someone wandering down here…"

"You don't want them suspecting anything," Chip finished.

"Oh! I have someone I want you to look up," Nikita interrupted. She sent Pidge the personnel file of a new crew transfer.

"What gave her away?" Pidge asked as he hacked into the G.A. personnel records.

"She was too interested in how well we knew the Vehicle team in engineering," Nikita answered.

"How bad were the 'very well' jokes when it came to you?" Chip laughed and Nikita snorted. Pidge smothered a laugh as the two bantered back and forth. Nikita had been on the Explorer for several years and Chip had somehow hit it off with her.

"Hey Nik? If Cric hasn't run into her yet and sussed her out, I can tell you that Ensign Donna May is indeed a spy," Pidge piped up suddenly.

"What's her connection to Wade?" Chip asked, as he straightened his glasses.

"Her mother is an old friend of Wade's," Pidge replied. He sent the two the file he'd dug up and Chip called out to someone behind him. Captain Newly came into view and read over Chip's shoulder.

"Great another one," he muttered as he read the file. "Have Cric get a read on her to verify your findings." Chip said that he'd be able to do that in the afternoon drills. "Nikita, alert the chief if he isn't already suspicious," Newly added. She informed the captain that the chief of engineering was already aware of May as she had given herself away easily enough.

Lance and Hunk had finally finished the tricky weld and had wandered over to join Pidge. "Hey Captain," Lance greeted.

"How's the Den coming along?" he asked.

"Almost got it fully functional," Hunk answered. Newly nodded.

"Will you still need these two to help you out when the Den's finished?" he asked Pidge.

"I'd prefer it," Pidge replied. "In the event we are discovered, I'd like to have backups in place off-world."

"Good plan," the captain murmured. "I'm going to find Hawkins and inform him of Wade's latest sneak. I'll talk to you guys later." Pidge, Lance, and Hunk saluted Newly before he left.

"So how many narks is it up to now?" Lance asked.

"Twenty three," Chip snorted. "The main bridge is loaded with them."

"Engineering is becoming popular place for them too," Nikita added.

"Makes sense," Lance agreed. "That's the two areas where your team can be monitored the best."

"Tell me Craig's got them doing grunt work?" Hunk asked and Chip and Nikita laughed.

"Da, the only thing the chief likes about the spies," Nikita admitted.

"They get all the menial tasks that take ages to do," Chip added.

"Won't that be suspicious though?" Lance asked. He got four head shakes as a reply.

"That's standard operating procedure with any engineering outfit," Hunk stated. "The newbies get the grunt work and earn their way to the choicer positions."

"Right little caste system you've got going there," Lance smirked. Nikita was about to agree when an alert sounded on her monitor.

"Guess who is paying a visit?" she growled.

"Ensign Nosy?" Chip guessed and Nikita nodded. "Tell you what, we'll sign off for now, and I'll go save Nik from a potential assault charge," he added to his brother after Nikita signed off.

"Understood. Call me when you have the game ready so I can go over it," Pidge said. Chip said that he would and signed off.

"Twenty three spies…isn't that a bit of an overkill?" Hunk asked.

"This is Wade we're talking about," Lance snorted. "He figures the Vehicle Team is as guilty as us, remember?"

"Yeah but the Alliance built the Vehicle Voltron," Hunk muttered.

"Using information they gleaned from ours," Pidge reminded him.

"Coran told me the only thing that saved theirs from being scrapped was the fact that the vehicles double as exploration units," Lance added.

"Keith needs to find Black and fast," Hunk muttered.

"Now probably isn't a good time to tell you that Cric doesn't think that's happening anytime soon," Pidge suggested.

"What?" Lance and Hunk both growled.

Pidge sighed. "Chip told me that Cric had one of his visions. Keith will eventually find the black lion, but not for a while yet."

"Kuso!" Hunk swore as he stormed off to find something to smash.

"And there we go with the Japanese again," Pidge muttered as he returned to the programming he'd been working on.


	7. The Land of Ice

The Land of Ice.

_A/N: I am going by the Devil's Due comic bio of Sven. The accent Michael Bell used in the 80's tune sounds most like Icelandic…to me anyway._

Queen Romelle of Pollux closed her eyes and breathed in the cool night air. That the sun was still shining overhead in the middle of the night didn't faze her much anymore. Romelle found the place intoxicating and exotic. That Sven called the island home seemed to fit. She recalled the first time she was about to visit her husband's childhood home and her trepidation when she heard the name. Lance had laughed as Sven smirked off to the side.

"Best bit of false advertising ever," Lance had told her.

"I personally think the ancestors did better with the naming of Greenland," Sven admitted. Romelle knew Sven too well.

"There's a catch?" she asked warily. Sven nodded.

"My ancestors named the two islands," he explained. "In the case of Iceland, they didn't want anyone showing up uninvited to their paradise. So they called it Iceland to deter visitors."

"Okay…" Romelle muttered, cocking an eyebrow.

"Greenland they did want settlers going to, but it was basically inhospitable," Sven continued. "So in order to trick people, the Vikings named it Greenland…not that the first settlers lasted very long there," he concluded.

"So?"

"In truth the names should be reversed," Sven told her.

To prove his point, Sven took her to Greenland first, before they continued on to Iceland that first time. Romelle did some reading and saw that the ancestors Sven was so proud of were essentially the scourge of Earth for nearly three centuries. Romelle had commented that suddenly everything about Sven made sense, once she'd brushed up on her Earth history. Sven had also taken her to the place of his birth in Sweden and she had to admit, the island of fire and ice seemed far more suited to having been where he called home.

Sven had surprised her on this trip. After visiting with his widowed father in Reykjavik, he'd called in a favour to a childhood friend and taken Romelle to a lonely holiday cabin situated at the foot of a volcano. Romelle looked up at the plume billowing from the mountain and shook her head. Sven and Lance were the only two people she knew, who could find such a sight beautiful. The eruption going on in front of her wasn't threatening to the area where the cabin sat, and Sven had assured her that it perfectly safe. Romelle let her head fall to the side and her eyes picked up the tell tale tracks of previous eruptions. Dark bands of old lava flows scarred the otherwise verdant field the cabin sat on.

On Pollux there were no landmasses near the poles, so the concept of days that lasted for weeks on end was relatively new to her. And while the phenomenon had become less impressive to her, she still found it difficult to sleep when the sun was out. Inside, Sven was sound asleep, when she'd given up and wandered outside to enjoy the night. Glancing at her watch, she was assured that it was just after two in the morning, despite the sun being nearly directly overhead. A damp warm breeze fluttered against her, and Romelle's eyes fell on the geothermal pools at the edge of the property. Steam was gently rising from the brilliantly coloured water and wafting away in the breeze.

She chuckled to herself when she recalled breakfast from the previous day. Sven had wandered over to the pools and in two minutes had perfectly boiled eggs. Romelle knew that no one would ever believe her when she told them what Sven was like in his native environment. He always had the air of being on constant alert at all times. It was intimidating to some people. But in his childhood home, Romelle saw Sven more relaxed and carefree than she ever thought possible. As if to prove that she wasn't imagining things, he chose just then to wander out and join her.

"It is dark enough in the room," he said around a yawn.

"But I know the sun is up," she countered. "I just can't sleep. Especially seeing as a volcano is going off in the back yard," she added sarcastically.

"Krafla might be one of the hell pits, but I swear it's harmless," he chuckled. That was another thing that amused her to no end about Iceland. The natives seemed perfectly at ease believing that some of their volcanoes were the gateways to Hell itself. That there was no fear in that belief had boggled her at first. Sven pointed to another plume far to the south and mentioned that the eruption taking place there was far more active than the one behind them.

"At least I can pronounce this one," Romelle teased. Sven slowly pronounced the name of the volcano erupting to the south of them and she smirked. "Gesundheit."

"Come on," he whined. "I managed to get Lance to be able to say it."

"Lance likes volcanoes," Romelle reminded him. "Something to do with his lion living in one maybe?"

"Bah," he dismissed and flopped down into the grass to watch the clouds float past.

"I have a question?" she suddenly piped up.

"Hmm?"

"Why is there grass growing on the roof of the cabin?"

Sven laughed and leaned his head back to look at the cabin. "It's an old hold over from the early settlement of the island," he told her. "And it keeps the houses surprisingly well insulated." He went on to tell her how the style had been born of necessity in the days of the original settlers and how it had evolved into a beloved tradition in more modern times. "And it's ecologically friendly," he concluded.

Romelle clucked her tongue. "So that's where you got the idea to line our hideouts on Doom with vegetation?"

"Yep," he smirked. "I don't hear you complaining when it's cold." She glanced at his shirtless torso and pulled the shawl she was wearing tighter around her.

"Your idea of cold and mine are two different things," she stated as she sat down beside him. He replied by waving around to indicate the countryside.

"Considering where I grew up…ja," he chuckled. He pulled at her gently and Romelle gladly lay against him in the grass.

"Tell me more about your ancestor's history," she asked after stifling a yawn. He closed his eyes and in Icelandic, began reciting one of the settlement sagas that he'd learned in school. Romelle finally drifted off to sleep as he spoke. In her dreams she envisioned what it might have been like when the Vikings first found their paradise.


	8. Take This Job and Shove It

Take This Job and Shove It.

Her Royal Highness, Princess Allura rued meeting with Alliance officials loyal to Sky Marshall Wade. She knew none of them from before the incident with the lions, but afterwards, they had come out of the woodwork. She was sitting across a broad table from a Captain Monica Edwards and listening to the woman as she brooked arguments for why there needed to be an Alliance battalion stationed on Arus. Wade had failed arguing this point, so Allura had no idea where Edwards was coming from, if she thought she could get what she wanted from the Princess of Arus. So far Edwards hadn't uttered the statement that had gotten the previous six attempts shot down in flames. But Allura could be patient. Edwards would make the mistake and Allura would calmly and coolly rip her to shreds. And her patience was suddenly rewarded when Edwards made a point about the Arusian forces being little more than farmers that had been issued weapons. It was a small victory, but a victory none the less, as Allura explained that her personal forces had been trained by Commander McClain and the others and were seen as some of the finest in the quadrant. Sending Alliance forces to replace them would be a waste of G.A. resources and an economic blow to many of her people. That she simply could not allow.

Commander Lance McClain couldn't take much more of this. Keith was so much better suited for the rules and regulations that came with rank, not him. But it had been apparent when they came up with the idea in the first place…no one would be at all surprised if Lance had been the one to go rouge. The famous and beloved Commander Keith Kagone though? That was a scandal in its own right and much more believable. Lance had a record longer than he was tall, filled with incidents of insubordination and misconduct reprimands. Keith had three incidents to his name, and the third was that he was now a Galaxy Alliance fugitive. Lance figured that if he swallowed his pride any more than he already had, he wouldn't have any left to shove down Wade's throat when the time came to shut the Sky Marshall down. 'Time to put on the straight jacket', he thought to himself as he got out a fresh uniform from his closet. Today was another day of being shown off for Wade. Lance prayed for the day he could slam Wade's head through the pavement. He checked his reflection and the anger boiled over. The pain in his fist from the broken glass and the blood dripping onto the floor felt deliciously good as he flexed his ruined hand.

Tech Sergeant Tsuyoshi 'Hunk' Garrett missed the man that his crew chief used to be. When Hunk was just a G.A. cadet, Chief Robinson was a man of integrity and honour. Now the chief was a willing lackey of Wade's and Hunk had to fight the urge to shake the man every day. Hunk's jaw was beginning to get sore as he listened to the chief brag about how wonderful the new Alliance ships were. If it wasn't praising the Alliance's new wave of craft, it was berating the former Alliance leadership in trusting a vehicle constructed from unknown tech. Robinson had done that earlier, which had caused the teeth clenching that had led to the sore jaw. Hunk glanced at the clock out of the corner of his eye and groaned inwardly. He still had another three hours before he could escape to his friend's garage and let off some much needed steam. His teeth grinded together when Robinson started in on the lions again. Keith had better find Black and fast, he thought.

Tech Sergeant Darrell 'Pidge' Stoker was long accustomed to being smarter than everyone around him, including his instructors. He'd been used to ignoring the painful ignorance around him at one time and then he'd been assigned to the Arus mission. While on Arus Pidge had been free to express his opinions and his teammates would make an effort to understand them if the concept was too advanced for them at first. He wasn't on Arus anymore and he had to break ideas down to simple concepts so others around him could even begin to have a clue about what he was talking about. The only positive Pidge could find in his current situation was that should his secret project be uncovered, no one would understand it. The supposed doctor he was dealing with now made him want to weep for the substandard quality of education, Pidge was sure he'd received. At least the doctor took proper offense when Pidge asked if he was speaking in terms too advanced for the doctor to comprehend, and would the doctor appreciate it if Pidge used single syllable words instead. Lance wasn't the only smart ass of the team.

Former Commander Keith Kagone loathed dealing with some of the shadier characters in the smuggling community. He'd prided himself as a man of honour and integrity and sometimes felt that it was beneath him to deal with the crooks he now relied on. Lance had been far better suited for this job, than Keith had, but then Lance was also the most obvious one in the eyes of Wade and his cronies. No it had to be Keith, they eventually decided. The thing that galled Keith only slightly more than having to deal with the smugglers was that he found he was pretty good at it. He had blended easily into the underworld of the galaxy black markets and barely legal dives he often found himself in. The one thing that Keith did find solace in was that fights were a common occurrence in these places and Keith loved a good fight almost as much as Lance did. He flexed his wrist and felt the blessed hilt of his sword manifest in his hand as he blocked an attack from a drunken smuggler. He heard chuckling behind him and stepped back until he bumped into the carapace of the one smuggler he truly liked. Manset muttered a small thanks as the two held off drunken combatants for fifteen minutes in the smoke filled bar. G.A soldiers at least like to announce their arrival with loud sirens and flashing lights and that gave Keith and Manset the out they needed to escape the chaos that had erupted in the bar.


	9. Fighting for Freedom

Fighting for Freedom.

Keith had to admit that Sven and Romelle had raiding planet Doom down to a science. He'd contacted them and asked for a safe haven as Wade's forces had been getting closer to him lately. Romelle suggested he hide out on Doom and meet them there for a planned raid they had in the works. Keith had found their cavern base and waited. Sven and Romelle joined him a day later and explained how they were going to liberate a cache of slaves from the northern pole of the planet. Though the twisted monarchy had been obliterated, the soldiers were still programmed to crush the slaves still trapped on the planet. Keith had been surprised by the small force that accompanied the royal couple on their trip.

"We're a glorified escort service," Jeff had commented. "At least under these two, we get to see some action."

"I wonder what Wade will cough up if we hand you in?" Shannon had teased.

"I don't know about Wade, but I can promise you a few missing teeth if you try," Keith retorted. Shannon held up his hands to suggest that he'd only been joking.

"Enough. We go," Sven commanded darkly. "Jeff you and the Air team will take the Strato Fighter to this point and work your way to the caverns in the middle on foot." Jeff nodded. "Cliff, you take the Turbo Terrain Fighter to here and do the same," Sven instructed, pointing to a spot on the map. "Cric, the Aqua Fighter can land here and then you and your team work your way to the caverns. Keith, you're with us," he finished, indicating himself and Romelle.

"Aerial surveillance suggests that there's several rouge Drule forces based here and here," Romelle added. "Avoid their camps if you can and try to slip past them."

"We've got the plan," Cliff said, cracking his knuckles.

"Then we go," Sven murmured. They split up into four teams and ran for their respective ships. Keith's vessel was perfect for this kind of mission as it tended to not show up on radar.

Jeff's team landed closest to one of the rouge camps. Rocky had spotted the perfect place to land and head out from. Once the Strato Fighter was secure, the Air team headed towards the caverns on foot. Chip alighted atop a rock outcrop and scanned the nearby camp with his binoculars. He signalled that they were in the middle of a guard change and jumped back down to join the rest of the team. Ginger and Wolo were instructed to take point with Rocky bringing up the rear. Chip used his minicomputer to guide them as they bypassed the soldiers and headed for the caverns. They spotted the entrance and were about to make for their goal when Wolo spotted the sniper. Ginger took aim and the Drule fell several dozen metres to the ground below.

"Looks like we're going to make it in clean," Chip stated.

"Guess again," Rocky growled and indicated the troops heading for their position.

"Aw shit," Jeff swore. "Take them out fast," he ordered as his team split up to take out the soldiers.

Half a kilometre away Cliff's team had arrived at the back entrance of the caverns. "This was too bloody easy," he muttered as he scanned the area to see if there were troops nearby.

"Maybe not Boss," Marvin suddenly piped up. "We've got incoming."

Cinda held a hand up for quiet and strained to listen. "They don't know we're here," she whispered. "They're responding to a skirmish to the south."

"Take cover," Cliff ordered and the Land Team dashed for hiding spots among the rocks.

From his position, Modoc had the best vantage point and watched as the small band of Drules headed for the fight their comrades were engaged in with the Air Team. He counted to one hundred twice after the last of them vanished over the horizon before signalling all clear. "Let's make for the caverns before any more of them show up," he suggested as the team regrouped.

"Keep your ears and eyes peeled," Cliff ordered as they crept inside the cave.

Inside, Hutch had been the first to encounter one of the hidden slaves. "Hey hold up! We're the Voltron Force. We're the good guys," he pleaded with the bedraggled man wielding a spear.

"You're not Arusian," the man spat.

"The other Voltron," Cinda offered and came forward to show that they meant no harm. "We're here to free you." The man scrutinised her in the dim light before asking if she was Argusian. Cinda nodded and the man lowered his spear.

"They speak the truth," he called out and two dozen other slaves crept from their hiding places and crowded around the Land Team.

The Sea Team had had the easiest trek so far. They'd encountered one Drule soldier and Tangor had made short work of him, snapping his neck and letting his corpse fall to the ground. Zandee had been the one to encounter one of the hidden slaves first as he barley dodged the spear aimed for his chest.

"We're here to help you," he called out as he dodged a second spear.

"Liars," a voice taunted from the depths of the cave. Cric recognised the accent and immediately switched to his native language.

"We're from the Galaxy Alliance and Voltron Force," Cric stated firmly. Lisa and Shannon both gasped in surprise as an Argusian dropped to the ground between them and jumped back. The slave focused entirely on Cric. Cric returned the intense focus and opened his mind for his fellow countryman to read. The slave sudden reeled back in surprise and barked to his comrades in the shadows.

"They're allies of the White Angel and the Black Storm," the man called out.

"Who?" Shannon asked.

"Romelle and Sven," Cric replied. "Those are the nicknames they've earned here."

"And here I thought it went against the rules to take advantage of local legend," Shannon commented dryly as they were surrounded by a dozen slaves from as many planets.

"If it means not getting shot at, I'm willing to break that rule," Zandee added.

"Accept our apologies," the Argusian man offered. "The soldiers have us trapped like animals in here."

"They'll be the ones running like hunted animals before the day's out," Tangor promised as he cracked his knuckles for effect.

"There are more of us coming to help you," Lisa stated. The Argusian man nodded and beckoned the Sea Team to follow him deeper into the caves.

"Looks like Jeff's team found trouble," Keith commented as he came in for a landing.

"Good," Sven stated.

"You did not set them up?" Keith asked incredulously.

"I'm not that cold blooded," Sven retorted. "But it's good because the troops will be focused on them. Land as close as you can without attracting attention," he ordered. Keith did as instructed and they disembarked. "My love, if you would be so kind?" Sven said to Romelle. Romelle smirked and pressed the crest on her voltcom.

"I love this part," she purred as she wielded the ghostly white broadsword in her hands. With a yell she charged towards the Air Team and the troops they were engaged with.

"Shall we?" Sven smirked as he rested the dark ominous long spear against his shoulder.

"Can't let your wife have all the fun," Keith grinned, bringing his swords to life.

One of the soldiers engaged with the Air Team heard the shrill yell and looked up. He saw a woman in white bearing down on him with her blade aimed for his heart. The most he got out was a strangled yelp, as Romelle ran him through with her sword. Some soldiers nearby heard this and turned, only to find Keith and Sven bearing down on them with lethal efficiency. A Drule got out the warning to the others that their doom had arrived.

Inside the main part of the caverns, Cric spied Cliff and the Land Team and sighed. "You made it in alright," he said.

"Yeah but this is only half of us," Cliff snorted. He was about to ask about the others when a woman ran into the cavern.

"They're here! The White Angel and Black Storm! We're free!" she cried out.

"Show us," Cric's guide demanded and waved for the Sea and Land teams to follow as the woman raced back the way she'd came.

"Told you they'd be the hunted animals today," Tangor grinned as he and the others came to the cave entrance nearest the fighting.

Cric turned to the Argusian his team encountered. "Man your defences here, we will aid our friends," he said as he drew his gun.

"Hutch, Shannon, and Zandee, give the Air Team some back up," Cliff barked. "The rest of ya, take your pick!"

"You guys okay?" Hutch asked when he joined the Air Team.

"Better," Jeff replied. "They freaked when Romelle showed up."

"Apparently they have quite the little legend surrounding them," Zandee stated as he fired at a Drule charging for them.

"So we've noticed," Chip grunted, as he heaved a dead Drule out of his way.

"Shite! Lisa!" Shannon yelled when he saw her slip and fall. Jeff's heart sank as he spied the soldier bearing down on her.

"Not today bastard," Sven growled as he impaled the Drule and used the momentum to vault over the corpse. "You okay?" he asked Lisa.

"Fine," she replied shakily.

"Watch your step," he warned and switched to his battle axes to take on a trio of soldiers racing towards him. Lisa gave a small salute off her brow and fired at another two Drules coming in from the left. Jeff had worked his way towards her and grabbed her around the waist in a one armed hug.

"You okay?" he asked, firing off a couple of shots.

"A bruised backside and pride, but I'm fine," she assured him.

"Come on," Jeff said, taking her hand and leading her back to the rest of his team.

"The cave!" Ginger cried out when she spied a band of Drules heading for the entrance. Jeff glanced around and made a quick decision.

"Defend it and the civilians. The others can handle things out here." Chip was the first to reach the cave entrance and he began firing at the incoming Drules. "Back us up," Jeff ordered the former slaves. "We've got the entrance." The Argusian man acting as leader instructed his people to fall back and watch for attacks coming from the back of the caverns.

Tangor had caught up with Romelle and was fighting alongside her as they cut down soldier after soldier. Romelle called out and Tangor grabbed the Drule by the throat and slammed his head into a nearby boulder. "That's one way to do it," she said as she threw a dagger at another soldier. Tangor just grinned as they raced onwards.

Keith and Sven had met up again and were slashing their way through hoards of Drules. Keith had found his centre and was machine like as he took out soldier after soldier. The feeling was exhilarating. Sven meanwhile channelled all of his vengeance and rage into the pair of axes he wielded as he slaughtered soldiers left and right. "They're running," he growled and chased after the few retreating Drules. Keith kept pace and the two caught up with the half dozen retreating Drules. One of them banked left in an attempt to escape but was cut down by a shot from Modoc. Sven swung his axes and decapitated three of the soldiers leaving Keith the run the other two through with his swords.

"They're finished," Cric called out and Sven nodded.

"Bandor, bring in the transports," he spoke over his voltcom. He glanced to his side and sighed. "They're Pollaxian crews, so no Wade spies."

"Thanks," Keith muttered as he let his swords fade from existence.

Romelle made her way to the cave entrance and called the all clear. "Gather your people outside," she told the leader. "There are transports arriving to take you away from here."

"We knew you'd come one day," the Argusian man offered humbly to Romelle. He turned and sent scouts to gather the hidden slaves and bring them to their freedom.

"I'll cover the back of the caverns," she told Jeff and pulled the dark cloak around her. "Cover these people as they leave."

"You heard her," Jeff said as he had his team break up and assist the former slaves.

Deep in the caverns Romelle spied a trio of Drules sneaking in from the back entrance. She smirked and manifested a pair of throwing knives. The soldier in the middle heard two strangling croaks and turned to see his comrades falling to the ground dead. He turned just in time to see the White Angel bearing down on him, broadsword in hand. At the main entrance, Sven heard the desperate cry of the lone soldier just before Romelle cut him down and smirked. Bandor had also heard the cry and shook his head. "My sister used to be quite peaceful you know," he commented to Sven. "Then you came along and completely ruined her."

"I was bored," Sven shrugged as he watched the last of the refugees board the transports. "As much as fun as you're probably having, we're ready to go," he told Romelle through his voltcom.

"Damn," she chuckled and said that she was on her way. She quickly jogged to the front of the cave and met up with her husband and brother. "Everyone's aboard?" she asked. Bandor nodded and left for his ship. Taking his hand in hers, Romelle led Sven towards the transport Bandor was commanding. "Now the hard part," she sighed. Freeing the slaves was easy. Repatriating them to their homeworlds proved to be quite difficult, with all the paperwork involved.


	10. It Starts

It Starts.

_A/N: This is what happens right before the 'incident'. My take on it any way._

Fumiko Garrett smiled softly at the small gift her youngest son had sent her. It amused her when she studied the carefully wrapped package that only a handful of his friends knew of his more artistic side. In the card Hunk mentioned that he'd seen something similar and after studying it, had made one just for her. Fumiko carefully unwrapped the small parcel, wrapped in tissue paper to resemble a kimono. Hunk must have had his commander wrap the gift. Hunk was hopeless on that front. Glancing at the card she smirked. Hunk's commander had indeed wrapped it for him. She carefully pried the top off the small jewellery box and her jaw dropped. Hunk had made her a pendant, by hand, from copper wire and stone chips. Fumiko took the pendant out of the box and saw that the loop at the top would easily fit one of her rose gold chains. She picked a chain out and slid it through the loop and then placed the necklace on. The tree pendant looked beautiful against her dark top and she sniffled. Fumiko decided that she would wear the necklace to the victory celebration that was rumoured to be happening soon.

Arus and Pollux had a shared embassy on Earth. When the embassy was being designed, the royalty of both planets made sure that it was able to accommodate large parties staying on Earth for any length of time. Above the embassy was a veritable mansion with more than enough room to accommodate both the Lion and Vehicle teams that had arrived on Earth for the grand celebration. For Princess Allura, Prince Bandor, and newly crowned Queen Romelle, the time before the grand celebration had been an eye opener. When not on duty and constant alert, the two teams were the worst of practical jokers. Bandor had jumped right in and teamed up with Pidge and Chip as the trio of young men would terrorise their friends.

Allura had staggered downstairs one morning to hear Romelle laughing. She could also hear swearing and was wide awake when she saw what was going on. Returning to Earth meant indulging for several members of both teams. There were bodies all over the floor of the main lounge. Shannon, Jeff, Keith, and Sven had all acquired healthy supplies of their favourite tipples and had a party the night before. The trio of Bandor, Chip, and Pidge had had fun after the drunks started passing out. Keith looked particularly dashing with the black leather bra looped over his head. And Allura had to agree, Lance made quite the beautiful woman. Even if his make-up was smeared from sleeping.

Commander Keith Kogane didn't have family to meet and celebrate with him. Neither did tech sergeants Chip and Pidge Stoker. The twins had spent two years looking to see where their adoptive family might have been and nothing. Finally three years after the destruction of Balto, they got a missive from a charity organisation that handled disasters. All of Balto's known citizens had been tracked down and their adoptive family were not among them. Princess Allura immediately made the honorary citizenship she'd granted the brothers, permanent. Keith knew better than anyone what it felt like to have no living relatives left. He'd reached out to the two and offered to listen when they wanted to talk. Pidge had already begun suspecting the worst before it had been confirmed.

Times like this were hard for the two, who had been orphaned twice now. Keith made it his job to look out for the two. He missed them leaving the embassy apartments one morning and shook his head when they eventually returned. Chip and Pidge had both turned twenty earlier in the year and missed the chance to celebrate together. They were in the lounge showing off their new tattoos. Pidge had Chip's battle copter on his back and Chip had the green lion permanently poised to strike on his. This way, they claimed, they could always watch each other's backs. Three days after they got the tattoos, Chip's would be considered contraband. Chip didn't care and the SS Explorer crew always smirked when he was not in uniform. The green lion could be seen poking out from behind his shirt, daring anyone to challenge its right to be there.

Lieutenant Ginger Vance didn't have any family either and she had always been maternal towards the twins. She was in the embassy gardens when they'd returned from their trip to get the tattoos and she was the first person they came across. Ginger cocked an eyebrow when they grinned at her, turned their backs, and removed their shirts. She laughed and said that the choices of artwork couldn't have been more perfect. Ginger had to see the other's reaction so she followed them back into the living space of the embassy and howled in laughter at the various reactions the twins received.

The evening before the grand celebration on Earth had been boisterous. An informal dinner was hosted with the teams and their family members who had arrived. Princess Allura worried that she'd strain her neck looking up at Hunk's father and brothers, who towered over him. She eventually admitted that she couldn't imagine what it must be like for his mother. Fumiko Garrett assured her that she was long used to it. For Queen Romelle and Prince Bandor, it was a chance for them to meet Sven's father. Bandor had a hard time figuring out how they were even related. Sig Holgersson was blonde, jovial, and not the least bit threatening in person. Sven, even when he was in the security of the palace, always had a deadly air about him. Sig assured his royal in-laws that Sven took after his late mother Annika, who had been a guarded person in life. Bandor was finally satisfied when Sig produced a family portrait that had been taken, not long before Sven left for Arus. Sven did look like his mother and the royal siblings immediately recognised the cool deadly glint in Annika's eye. The dinner had been followed by a party. This time Lance made sure that Bandor, Chip, and Pidge got just as drunk as everyone else, so that they wouldn't play make-up artists later.

The morning had been controlled chaos. People were stumbling around looking for their uniforms and debating whether to go with their dress ones or day to day ones. Sven unintentionally made the decision for them when he ambled out in jeans and a dress shirt. They figured that if the Prince Consort of Pollux wasn't going to get dressed up, then they certainly weren't. Romelle and Bandor had cemented the idea when they showed up casually attired for the day. Romelle smirked and reminded them that they were just guests for the show. Lance had retorted that he wasn't about to go change now.

Hunk grinned broadly when he saw the pendant he'd made for his mother, hanging from her neck. Allura had told her the night before the meaning behind the popular design on Arus, and Fumiko said that she'd gladly share the information with anyone who asked her about it. The design was an emblem of peace and after the Lions had suddenly attacked the crowds, Fumiko found herself clutching the copper and green stone pendant in prayer. Later back at the embassy, Cric and Cinda both piped up that they'd had a strange feeling about the events earlier in the day. Someone had gained temporary control of the lions for their own gains, the two Argusians were sure of it. Lance blinked in surprise when Keith had vowed vengeance on whoever was responsible. Back on Arus Hunk and Keith would be the ones that argued about the plan to restore the lions to their rightful place. Keith slipped away into the night after they'd retired. The plan was in place and he had a job to do. Sky Marshall Wade had declared him a criminal within hours of him slipping away into the night. Former Commander Keith Kogane suspected that the man was his ultimate target and began to scheme.


	11. Dreams of Love and Loss

The Dreams of Love and Loss.

Princess Allura purred as he ran his hands along her lean torso. Her lover had expert hands too, that knew where to touch her and how to elicit the most pleasurable sensations. Soon she would return the favour, but not before he'd teased the first of hopefully many climaxes from her. Allura felt the edge coming and sighed, and then she woke up. Sitting up in confusion she glanced around her room. Keith wasn't there. He wasn't on Arus at the moment. If she recalled, his last message said he was near Tallus VIII and the smuggling rings there. Narrowing her eyes, she threw the covers back and got out of bed. Quickly changing into sweats, she stormed out of her room and down to the gym. Keith needed to return home and soon, she thought as she kicked the exercise bag hard. Dreaming of him wasn't helping her frustrations.

Princess Larmina awoke with a start. Who was he? The boy looked sort of like Keith, but he definitely felt more like Lance. She didn't recall a name uttered during the dream, not that it mattered. Was she becoming like her aunt; obsessed with an Earthling male? Figures, she snorted as she flopped down and tried to go back to sleep. After a few restless moments, she managed to fall back to sleep, and immediately went back to where she left off in the dream. The boy was running. Fast…faster than a human should be able to run and he was running straight for her. Why? She could take care of herself. The boy ran past her and grabbed another boy around the waist to shove him out of danger. Larmina took one look at the other boy and realised that he was of great importance. Far more important than her, not that she actually cared. The battle they were fighting soon wound down and Larmina joined the two boys. The first one hugged her and just before she could kiss his cheek, she awoke a second time. Fearing that she'd return to the kiss, Larmina got out of bed and wandered down to the gym. Her aunt was there and the exercise bag was taking a beating.

"Keith again, huh?" she asked as she stretched on the mat.

"Yes. You?" Allura growled.

"Some boy I've never even met," the younger princess admitted. Larmina went on to describe the two from her dreams and the one that she almost kissed. Allura groaned in sympathy for her niece. "Wanna take it out on the practice dummies? Together?" Larmina suggested. Allura let a small smirk curl her lips as she joined the girl on the mat.

"Sim, start Drule invasion," Allura commanded.

"Let's get them!" Larmina grinned as the holo program came to life. The two women made short work of the holograms.

A month later, Larmina's heart nearly stopped when she entered her class. The boys from her dream had been chosen to train with her. And the paler one was cute. Destined or not, these two would have to earn her respect first. Daniel would have to work extra hard to earn her heart, as he had in her dream.

He handed her the voltcom and told her to protect it. Then he ordered her to run for safety. He'd hold them off with the guns. The Drules could never get their hands on the technology contained in the voltcoms. She nodded and raced away, knowing that she'd never see him again. His mission was a suicide one…there were too many of them. She got to their ship and made a decision. She'd fly to his rescue. She took off and headed back towards where she'd raced from. She found him, alone atop a hill and the guns were empty and useless at his feet. Coolly, he looked upon the horde he'd managed to hold at bay before turning to walk away. The commander ordered him dead and his men complied. She screamed when she saw him fall from the countless lethal shots fired into his back

Romelle was gasping for air and there was a figure looming over her, trying to calm her. Slowly her senses returned to her and she realised several things. She was on Pollux in her quarters, and the shadowy figure above her was Sven, trying to ease her distress. He was alive, which brought a choking sob out of her as she threw her arms around his neck. "The suicide mission…all the way to completion this time," she managed to get out, when he'd asked what she'd dreamed.

"Hey, I promised on our wedding that I wouldn't do anything crazy," he gently assured her. "You wouldn't let me get away with it anyway." That earned him a solid punch to his shoulder.

"That doesn't stop me from dreaming it," she muttered darkly.

Sven leaned down and pressed his lips to her brow. "That place has a lot to answer for," he murmured into her sweat soaked hair.

Commander Lance McClain pretty much had unfettered access to the entire complex at the GA flight academy. That meant he could sit with whoever he damn well pleased for breakfast. He found Hunk and guessed that Pidge was probably nearby. Pidge let his tray hit the table just as Lance took his seat across from Hunk. They all had the look of sleep deprivation about them. Hunk started by saying that he'd dreamed of his beloved Yellow being ripped apart by the dark powers of Haggar. Pidge cocked an eyebrow and said that in his dream it was the Omega comet that was tearing Green to shreds. Lance admitted that his had been about Red, being dissected and essentially killed by Wade. All three of them missed their lions and the intimate connections they had to the machines.

The space mouse looked up in confusion as Keith stormed past in the ship and tossed his bedding into the laundry. The mechanical mouse noted that his master was freshly showered and in a dark mood. An image of Princess Allura was conjured up in the micro processors of the little mouse's brain and it shrugged. The mouse waited until the engines fired up and they were in flight before making its way over to the spot that it inhabited when they were under way. Curling up on the consol, the mouse waited. Keith would start muttering soon enough about what plagued his sleep. The mouse was proven right when he started complaining that he needed to consider a conjugal visit to Arus. Dreaming of his royal lover was a sad substitute for actually being with her. The mouse watched as his human considered laying in a course for Arus, before changing and heading towards an Alliance outpost instead. Oh well, at least it would get the chance to rummage through Alliance systems and see if it could locate where Black was imprisoned.


End file.
